I love numbers, art and people. I came up with the idea for ZipFit.me, a virtual personal shopper for apparel, while carpooling with a group of male classmates. I’m working on my part-time MBA at Chicago Booth after spending a few years in consulting and a few years with my family’s startup. My first job ever was at the Gap in high school. My favorite moment is when you see someone walk out of a dressing room with a huge smile on their face because they have found their perfect fit and it looks fabulous on them.

Start A Company When You're 25 -- Not When You're 52

You need industry expertise to start a company, right? You need to have spent 30 years learning the ins and outs. Everyone should already know who you are. At this point you’re also making over $300,000 a year and have a family with 3 kids, 2 of whom are going to college next year. Starting a company means you probably will not receive a paycheck of substantial size for a while, and you have a huge risk of failure.

At age 25, the sky is the limit. You generally have no mortgage, no children and maybe just a cat to feed. You can store all of your possessions, if you have any, live in a filing cabinet/your space at the incubator, and shower at the gym when needed. You’re only making maybe $50,000 a year, so if you make $40,000 in a startup it’s not that big of a risk. Working late is not a problem. You’re used to staying up until 1am for homework. You also see incredible inefficiencies in the market and want to change it. You have no fear of challenging “market standards”.

Naturally, I would argue that a 25 year old should start a company, under the guidance and coaching of an older mentor who has been in the industry before. If you’re young and sharp, you will quickly learn the industry, and you will ask your mentors thousands of questions. You’ll also challenge the industry norms, and your mentors will let you know if you are off your kilter.

The challenge for a 25 or 30 year old running an early-stage company is recognizing the fact that one day you may be replaced by the 52 year old. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not. If your company has grown to the point of a large Series A or B round, you should seriously ask yourself who the best person to run the company is because your VC certainly will. Is it you? Is it a seasoned exec?

I believe much of that depends on the individual and the company’s growth stage. It’s your job as the CEO of your company to constantly question who is best for the situation and gracefully step aside when needed. Some people are better suited to run firms at various stages. Ultimately you may find yourself as the type that only wants to start firms from the early stages, and then either just focus on the product development or start on the next market changing idea.

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Respectfully Liz, the assumptions you have made in this article are not supported by facts or historical reality, particularly for the average business person. Yes, there are very bright young people that soar to the top early, however they are rare and not the norm. I have been a serial entrepreneur since the age of 8 and my perspective on entrepreneurial start ups argue that older people are better prepared and more credible, because they have already experienced life’s threshing floor.

WHY WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE 25 YEARS OLD ,,I HAD MY FIRST BUSINESS WHEN I WAS 15 YEARS OLD..I HAD A DOOR TO DOOR SELLING BUSINESS AND HAD 17 OLDER MEN WORKING FOR ME..I HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS ALL MY LIFE..AND AT AGE 83 I AM STILL IN BUSINESS AND WILL BE IN BUSINESS UNTIL THE DAY I DIE.. I HAVE A 12 YEAR OLD GREAT GRAND SON AND A 13 YEAR OLD GREAT GRAND DAUGHTER AND BOTH OF THEM HAVE STARTED THEIR FIRST BUSINESS.

Successful people are different from the start. They don,t fit in and they never quit. What you should be asking is what their reason is for having this decease . Why are,nt they satisfied with a normal job. I,ve been blessed with a creative imagination and the infliction of an unending vision that knows no bounds. You just have to have big enough balls to step up and take the prize to win.

A great article for anyone wanting to get their feet wet and really learn what American soil can do for you.

I have to say though, it doesn’t HAVE to be 25. I started my first company (with my good friend) at 24 and now again (alone) and 27/28 in a completely different industry. The important thing to remember is that obviously time is on your side when you’re young but more importantly, your mind is boundless but close enough to 30 that you have a decent fresh mind, and can organize and lay out your goals for the startup as an adult.

Above all else though, you should 1) know what you want to build and why you’re building it and 2) make sure it’s solving SOME kind of problem so that 3) you can scale, be proud of society using it day to day, and at the end of the day, if you get famous from it, have customers thanking you for bringing it into their lives. Oh and also, ask and take all the help you can get. Trust me, from family to friends, if you get a good feeling from their curiosity in your project, ask them for any available time and assistance.

Pre 30 is normally best though especially with the speed one can build a site, a decent prototype etc and bring it to market effectively these days. I forgot to add though that you should really know who you are inside.

Your limits as a matter of fact, are the most important thing. Some of the most mature people I’ve met (young or old) can admit pretty big flaws that others are are better than them at. Once that happens in ones self, you know how to make proper judgements calls and run your own deals. Until then though there was something that needed and you’re better left to be an adviser and make your money attaching to a really smart person like a Larry Page or Bill Gates and just ride the wave.